1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of portable means for obtaining retinal scans and, more particularly, to PCMCIA retinal scan cards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computers provide access to computing power for individuals, either as stand-alone machines or as terminals for connecting to a network of other computers. As personal computers have become more available and more powerful, providing effective security for such personal computers and the data and devices accessible therethrough has become more of an issue. Ideally, it would be desirable for the full computing power of the personal computer and its associated network to be available quickly and easily with no overhead to an authorized user, and be completely denied to an unauthorized user.
Biometric authentication is the measurement and analysis of human physical and behavioral characteristics to identify an individual. Fingerprint sensing, retinal scanning, signature verification, and hand geometry analysis are examples of known biometric authentication techniques. Using biometric authentication to determine who is authorized to use a resource such as a personal computer or to access a restricted area is well known in the art and many laptops now frequently include a built-in fingerprint sensor to assist in the authorization process.
Retinal scanning technology has been implemented through the inclusion of a retinal sensor in a PCMCIA card that is insertable into a computing device. Used in connection with software stored on the computing device, the technology can be used to allow or deny access to the computing device. An example of this technology can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,031 to Klatt. While this configuration functions sufficiently, it is difficult to use, since the user must scan his or her retina by positioning his or her eye next to the PCMCIA card, which is inserted in the computer when in use. This is not ergonomically sound and can be awkward and limiting in functionality.